Liza Jablonski
"I am confident that Milwaukee’s skyline will be highly talked about in the next 10 years across the nation."
Liza Jablonski. Photo courtesy of NEWaukee.
Where do you work and what makes your role awesomesauce?
I work at Associated Bank in Commercial Real Estate. Aside from working with great people day-in and day-out what makes my role awesomesauce is being an integral part of Milwaukee’s transforming skyline by working directly with our developers on their financing structure to execute their projects. I am confident that Milwaukee’s skyline will be highly talked about in the next 10 years across the nation.
What is something that is missing from our community that you would love to see implemented?
Skywalks connecting all of Downtown Milwaukee’s key mid- and high-rise buildings. As all Wisconsinites know, winters can be brutal.
Generalization: The City is segmented and connectivity is missing.
What is one word that you would use to describe Milwaukee?
HOMEY. Milwaukee is home.
What local restaurant is at the top of your list?
I love BRUNCH! Milwaukee has some of the BEST brunch spots, and my one of my favorites is Simple Cafe on Farwell.
What is your favorite Milwaukee tradition?
Summerfest – Nothing like getting together with friends and family by one of Milwaukee’s greatest assets, Lake Michigan, and enjoying food and drinks while listening to some of the best bands around LIVE.
What does your ideal Milwauee weekend look like?
Waking up early on a Saturday morning and going for a long 10+ mile run along the lakefront followed by a stop at Colectivo on the Lake for a latte. The day would continue by meeting friends at a Downtown bar and shuttling to a Brewers Game where we would tailgate and watch the Brewers (hopefully) bring home the W. The night would end with drinks on a patio or walking around a summer festival listening to music. The weekend would be topped off with a Sunday Brunch and a walk around the City. There is so much to do and see in Milwaukee. As a Milwaukee native, I don’t take advantage of all the wonderful local restaurants, bars, shops and our biggest asset, Lake Michigan, enough.
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Skywalks stop people from walking the street. Look at west town, while skywalks aren’t the only cause they certainly helped with the demise of street level retail. I would expect someone with “awesomesauce” who works in the industry to have a better understanding of this.
Well, duh, skywalks stop people from walking on the street (at least corporate employees who work in connected buildings). That’s their point. What you failed to state is why that is necessarily a bad thing, especially when there is little retail on the streets of far East Town.
I think many would appreciate the skywalks in winter. And, if done correctly like Minneapolis or Winnipeg, the skywalks themselves can become like busy city sidewalks. Yes, this includes retail.
FWIW, the term “awesomesauce” is proffered by Urban Milwaukee in these interviews, which makes it impossible for me to take them seriously.
Is the importance of street level foot traffic really debatable? Every vital city on this planet has street level retail. The thriving parts of Milwaukee have street level retail. Think 3rd Ward, Brady Street and Bayview.
My point was that she was given one thing to implement in the city and she chose skywalks? It’s like she was transported in time from 1983. That’s an opinion I would expect from the suburbanite white tennis shoed lunch walkers, not someone with any understanding of urban commercial real estate.
If we’re throwing out “FWIW’s” (as if using that acronym is any better then using “awesomesauce”) then I’d like to put mine in there too. FWIW, on winter days I make sure to bring my lunch to work or use the cafeteria in my building and do not venture to local dining. If our building had a skywalk connecting us to other options, I’d definitely frequent local food providers more often in the colder 6 mo. of the year.
Wow AG. I didn’t know acronyms could irritate someone so much, much less be compared to cringeworthy words like “awesomesauce.” Learn something new every day, I guess.
By the way (i won’t say BTW here), is your own name also an acronym?
Sorry Joe, I just find it difficult to take you seriously when you comment using teenage girl colloquialisms. It’s a personal problem, I’ll work on it.
AG is the ticker symbol for the silver mining company I own. Since ticker symbols are abbreviations and not acronyms, I can safely say no, it’s not an acronym.
Wow, the bitterness is palpable. You should work on that.
Some people take life and internet comments too seriously. Lighten up Joe!
I’ve cringed at the “awesomesauce” question too–and in previous features. Perhaps Urban Milwaukee should make it clear that they are not posing the questions.
Some interviewees say thought-provoking or insightful things; other responses seem fluffy. I assume they each receive (mostly?) the same questions which are answered by email. I have great hope for young people being a force for positive change in Milwaukee so it’s nice to get a glimpse into their ideas and concerns. I suspect that not all young professionals toss around awesomesauce. As for abbreviations and acronyms, they are so pervasive in social media–but I had not known FWIW. The shorthand lexicon is long.
I didnt know FWIW was an acronym. How would you pronounce it?
I always thought AG stood for Andy Goshdarn. Good to know you own a silver mine. If I ever meet you, youre buying the drink.
Ha! It’s pronounced “phew”
I was actually surprised Joe didn’t call me out for that… must not have realized the error.
And it’s actually Andy Good-ideas but I don’t like to brag.
I like skywalks. While they do take people off the sidewalks, they also encourage people to walk more (no traffic lights) thereby increasing overall pedestrian traffic, albeit above street level. Minneapolis proves that skywalks needn’t kill downtowns.
And it’s not just above-ground walkways that I like. Downtown Toronto has 19 miles of pedestrian walkways (mostly underground tunnels) connecting 4 million square feet of retail (1,200 retailers) and most downtown buildings. It’s now being expanded to 60 kilometers (37 miles) of vibrant downtown walkways!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PATH_(Toronto)